Report lists Kansas as ‘high outbound’ state for migration

Though it might be true that there’s no place like home, more people are deciding to leave Kansas, according to a new migration report.

In a release Monday from United Van Lines, Kansas was ranked the sixth-most “moved from” state in 2015, coming in behind, in order, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut and Ohio. The data was taken from more than 246,000 transports completed by the moving company last year, according to the release.

A total of 2,623 “shipments” related to Kansas were moved in 2015, with 1,504 (57 percent) leaving the state, according to the company’s survey. Nearly 67 percent of New Jersey moves left the state last year, marking the biggest migration from a state, while 69 percent of moves related to Oregon were people coming to the state, making it the most desired state for the third consecutive year.

With regard to Wichita, according to United Van Lines spokeswoman Melissa Sullivan, there were 443 recorded moves last year, with 275 (62 percent) leaving the area. Though the results stem only from business done by one company, Sullivan said in an e-mail that she thinks the results are likely to mirror overall trends.

“As the nation’s largest full-service household goods mover, we are confident our data reflects larger trends in the market,” said Sullivan.

In a separate survey, Sullivan said, 232 of the more than 1,500 people polled gave reasons why they moved, with 65 percent reporting that a “company transfer or new job” led them away from Kansas. About 17 percent said retirement took them away, while 16 percent said they left to be closer to family.

After Oregon, the other top inbound states in the survey were South Carolina, Vermont, Idaho and North Carolina. Survey results were in line with a recent trend of people moving to western and southern states.

“The aging boomer population is driving relocation from the northeast and Midwest to the west and South as more people retire to warmer regions,” economist and UCLA professor Michael Stoll said in the release.

The United Van Lines report – which classifies any state with a migratory trend of at least 55 percent leaving as a “high outbound” state – does not include information for Hawaii and Alaska. U-Haul, another major U.S. moving company, plans to release its own set of annual migration numbers later this month, according to company spokesman Jeff Lockridge.